Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Passionflower


This week I noticed and picked a passionflower.  I had remembered how when I was young, someone telling me the symbolism of the passionflower, but couldn't remember the details. So when I was looking it up on the internet I discovered there is passionflower tea, used for medicinal purposes that I had never heard of, but found very interesting.  It is such a cool looking flower.  So much detail and design to it.  I think it's one of my favorite flowers.  I also think I may try some passionflower tea.  It could be very helpful for me.                                                         Passionflower is a plant. The above ground parts are used to make medicine.

Passionflower is used for sleep problems (insomnia), gastrointestinal (GI) upset related to anxiety or nervousness, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and relieving symptoms related to narcotic drug withdrawal.

Passionflower is also used for seizures, hysteria, asthmasymptoms of menopause, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), nervousness and excitability, palpitations, irregular heartbeathigh blood pressurefibromyalgia, and pain relief.

Some people apply passionflower to the skin for hemorrhoids, burns, and pain and swelling (inflammation).

In foods and beverages, passionflower extract is used as a flavoring.

In 1569, Spanish explorers discovered passionflower in Peru. They believed the flowers symbolized Christ’s passion and indicated his approval for their exploration. Passionflower is found in combination herbal products used as a sedative for promoting calmness and relaxation. Other herbs contained in these products include German chamomile, hops, kava, skullcap, and valerian.

Passionflower was formerly approved as an over-the-counter sedative and sleep aid in the U.S., but it was taken off the market in 1978 because safety and effectiveness had not been proven.

How does it work?

The chemicals in passionflower have calming, sleep inducing, and muscle spasmrelieving effects

2 comments:

sweet older sister said...

I love this flower too! When we lived on 3rd street, I would walk down the alley towards Gilbert Rd and behind one of the apts, there was a passionflower vine. It was beautiful!

Did you also know that it produces a fruit? At health food stores you can find juices with passion fruit in them, also, there is passion fruit ice cream!

Pedaling said...

sounds like a useful flower.